A Time Ago
by BanannaSammich
Summary: Life isn't fair, this is the utmost truth. Especially so, when fate decides to throw you a bone a decade too late. How do you coexist with someone you've moved on from, only to have that love reignite anew? All while hoping against hope you'll return home to your own partner? A Self Insert.


I stared long and hard into those cornflower blue eyes. Piqued with curiosity they stared right back at me. It was baffling how much unsettlement and how unsafe I felt in such a masculine presence, when so many years ago I thought I would've felt quite the contrary. Maybe it had to do with the fact that this man was no longer the source of unrequited love harbored so many years ago. Maybe it had to do with the passage of time. Maybe I had become the matured adult I had always hoped to be.

"So will you speak first or shall I?" He spoke in a deep baritone velvet kind of voice. One that years ago would have sent sexual shivers down my spine, now made me flinch in discomfort. He sat on the cobbled ground of the Meltokio courtyard with me, the two of us holed up in a distant corner.

"About what?" My voice held flat and defensive. He held his hands up in a gesture of peace, attempting to cut through the thick tension I was emitting.

Why was I putting up such a wall against this man? I loved him at one point, a time ago. My rationale could not keep from telling me this, but at the same time, my heart refused to hold on to the past.

"Perhaps about what exactly happened just now." His eyes softened to my gaze, perhaps in a attempt to reassure me that I had nothing from which to worry. My being though, held nothing but.

"Why do you think I would have the answer?" My eyes drifted down to his chest, inspecting the thin, brazier-like shirt that barely covered his toned pectorals. He radiated every morsel of handsome characteristics, but I couldn't rid my stomach of the sickening, fear feeling I held. "I blacked out and woke up here."

Regal snorted. "You fell from the sky like a meteor. You mean to tell me you have no memory of this?"

"Yes." I offered quietly, letting him fall from my eyes completely. I let myself loose into my memories of the past twenty-four hours.

—

I let out a huff, relaxing against the cold steel wall of the elevator. I had wasted another five hours of my life to menial labor and was about to make my way home, where I could indulge in the creation of art, or maybe get sims four to work on my computer.

The smell of stale fry oil had embedded into my clothing, and would not leave my nostrils. I closed my eyes.

A loud foreign industrial noise came from outside. The elevator halted movement, raising additional cause for concern.

Great, I couldn't help but think. The damn thing has to break down when I'm not hauling a cart of hot food from the kitchen. Before I could open my eyes, gravity ceased to exist.

—

My gaze had drawn to the sky. I sat propped up against the local inn at the entrance of the city, debating what had happened to me, why, and what I could do to possibly fix this. In distasteful manner I ditched mister Regal Bryant about an hour ago. For a reason beyond me, I couldn't handle his presence any longer after his beration of questions.

I honestly had no clue why I was here. I could barely believe that this was all actually true in the first place. This world did not exist. The fact that it could was complete bullshit; I came to that conclusion a time ago. I look around.

Tall lamp posts were adorned with hanging potted flowers. The cobbled streets of the city were graced with dirt and worn from excessive use. My fingers brush the bricks near me, picking up remnants of the soil that sat in the cracks. I study the dirt in my hands. Dry and dark, specked with shards of plant life that had attempted to grow. I look to the streets.

Beings meandered through the city on their way to somewhere. They looked no different than people I saw in my own town. The only difference was the more dynamic range of hair colors. Of course, this day and age on earth there were more different kinds of personalities and folks that reflected these. I imagined this world to the naked eye would actually look more anime, like the game, but this held the appearance of realism. It was as if I was on earth. Meltokio made me think of what Italy probably looked like, had I traveled there.

This was real. These people were real. I was real. The only question was what to do now. Would I be able to get home? How could I? This situation seemed like every fangirl's dream, but it held no shred of romanticism for me anymore. I was stuck here, in Tethe'alla still, I assumed, based on the pair of handcuffs Regal was wearing earlier.

I closed my eyes. I had no answers. My heart panged with emotion at the thought that I simply should give up and sit here until I die of starvation most likely. Any other idea seemed improbable.

My heart fluttered, causing my eyes to shoot open. In my peripheral I see Regal, nearing the city gates, off to do god knows what. I had no clue if I was in the game's story line, or some other point in time. As unsafe as he made me feel before, my rationale reasoned that he was the only solid answer in this mess.

Which was true. Maybe if I followed him I could get somewhere. find some kind of answer. I had no other choice at this point in time.

I stood up, dusting off my clothes. I managed to pull on my street clothes before I came to this world, but though they still held the same color scheme, they somehow changed in style, probably to fit more of the tone of this world. My dark black skinny jeans had turned into tight leggings. My red RHCP t-shirt had turned into a sleeveless, longer garment that passed my rear, with openings that showed skin in the center of my chest and each shoulder and black trim that spread throughout in an intricate design. My high top DC sneakers had turned into boots with the same red, black, and grey accents.

"Hey." I call out to the man with nonchalance. He pauses and glances around, almost amused that he had run into me again.

"Well hello. Didn't expect I would see you so soon."

I keep my distance, staring at the strong wall of a man. "…I need to come with you." The smile falls from his face.

"I have matters to attend to that don't concern a young lady. I apologize, but I can not allow you to follow me." Regal turns back towards the exit and resumes his leave.

I almost let him go. Watching his back to me leaves a pang in my chest, and my legs suddenly shoot forward. "You're looking for Colette, right?" His gaze shoots back around to me in surprise at my knowledge. "Maybe we can help each other."

He frowns at me. "How could you help me?" He has a point.

"Well, I mean I probably can't…but I honestly have no where else to go. All I need are answers. And I'm just flying by the seat of my pants here, but I'm hoping those answers will be found if I find the chosens." I sigh. "Its a stretch, I know. But its all I got."

Regal ponders me for a moment, and I can only imagine what could possibly be flying through that large brain of his. "Very well. Let us go."


End file.
